Todaiji

Here are the few pictures I took on Saturday from the class trip to Nara. Todaiji was built in the 8th century and used to be the most important temple in all of Japan. Today it's still one of the most important ones and is a big tourist attraction. The Great Buddha statue inside the Daibutsuden (dai: big/great; butsu: Buddha; den: temple) is shockingly enormous---unfortunately, no one is allowed to take pictures inside. I squeezed my way through the square hole (don't remember what it's called but it's a narrow rectangular hole cut into one of the pillars inside---to get through, you have to go through sideways with your arms stretched out above your head), which, if completed, is supposed to give you good luck! :-)

There are deer EVERYWHERE, and they will come up to you and try to eat anything they can find---a strap on your backpack, a notebook, your shoelace, you name it. They prohibit people from feeding the deer people food, but they have deer crackers which you can buy for 150 yen to feed them. I bought some and did a little trick my host dad told me about: if you hold the cracker high above your head, the deer will do an up-and-down motion with their head, which makes it look like they are bowing to you! And then you feed it to them and the deer gobbles it up.

Despite the rainy, cold day, it was an OK time. I want to go back when it is sunny, and when I have my camera with the memory card in it!

-Monica




The Daibutsuden, as seen from the chumon, or middle gate.

Guardian of the West? I don't remember which one, but it is tucked away inside the chumon. Few people realize it and the other guardian (of the North) are even there.

Only two of 897593874782341 deer we saw that day! Such pesky animals!

A stand where you can buy deer sembei (crackers), on the way into the temple area.